Susie Finkbeiner’s books should come with warning labels.  Stories That Bind Us is no exception.  The label should read something like: Don’t start this until you are prepared emotionally and with enough time.  This book can be put down, it can be read over several days, but depending on your level of emotional investiture, you might want to get through it quickly.  The cover of this story is beautiful and invites the reader to open the book and join Betty Sweet on part of her life’s journey.

In this story, Finkbeiner follows the story of Betty Sweet during some of her most challenging times emotionally.  Finkbeiner is not afraid to tackle difficult and divisive issues such as racism, mental illness, abuse, and many others.  The story is not written in a fast-paced way, but as a stream of conscious from Betty.  It really works for this story.  The slow almost leisurely walk through Betty’s life is a perfect illustration of the almost muddled state of Betty’s thoughts during this time.

The writing style of this author is raw and honest.  Not every book has to focus on romance or some suspenseful action-packed events in order to be enjoyable.  Finkbeiner’s approach to writing about the real and tender feelings of her characters as they deal with very difficult situations is excellent.  The drain on one’s emotions is to be expected, but there are so many beautiful messages in the book that it is well worth it.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Revell

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: None 

Violence/Gore:  A character recalls a news report in which a person set himself on fire; the news depicts people who were shot and killed; a child has bruises that are implied to have resulted from abuse; a person recalls her mother causing physical harm to her as a child; a character has an injury that she indicates was the result of an aborted suicide; a church is bombed and children are killed. 

Sex/Nudity:  A married character recalls a scene that ultimately leads to sexual relations, but the character ends the memory without any details before anything happens; a person indicates she was not married to a child’s father; a married character recalls instances of hand holding and kissing.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death of close family members, suicide, mental illness, child abuse, racial prejudice.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Character is drunk and cannot even function.